Day Two Canopy Walk and Gamatano Creek

If the nocturnal forest symphony was relaxing, the morning cacophony (starting at around 4:30 am) was deafening. We were abruptly awakened by what I would describe is a marimba that played 3 short consistent pitches followed by someone hitting a gong. This turned out to be a bird (whose name escapes me) that was perched right on top of our dwelling! Honestly, I thought it was some kind of organized wake up call until Roberto clued us in at breakfast.

First stop on the agenda today was a canopy tour of the forest. With vivid recollections of yesterday's talk of toxic flora and tarantulas lurking in tree bark, we were happy to oblige when Percy told us to scale the 40 ft. tower to take a walk on the wild side....a network of suspension bridges strung high above the forest floor.

We saw the "drum" tree, so named because the natives beat on the trunks to send resonant drum beats of coded messages throughout the forest. This was their mass communication system. The fig trees start as vines that wrap themselves around another specie of tree and strangle that tree allowing the fig tree to grow into a ficus. The ultimate parasite!
Just as in N. America, the birds are heard but rarely seen. This is a social fly catcher. Social in that he allows us to see his glorious yellow self. Walking across the swaying bridges was magical, 100 feet in the air, where we were able to see orchids and the palm fruits with the Macaws that feed on them. All in all, this lofty view afforded us a glimpse of a secret world in the Amazon tree tops.

After a 20 minute boat ride upstream on the Madre de Dios (Mother of God) River, we docked at the Gamatana Model Farm, a prototype to teach the indigenous farmers alternative methods of agriculture to encourage soil conservation and diversity. The farmers live on site while their families live an hour away in the city of Puerto Mondonara. As we trekked through what was arguably a very diverse "farm," we saw lemon trees, orange trees, banana trees, and avocado trees all growing in a harmonious orchard together.

Throughout the farm we saw acres of tropical plants (house plants to us North Americans) such as the spectacular Bird of Paradise Tree! Our hour and a half hike took us through a lush tropical rain forest with towering palms, ficus, kapock trees among many others. It was an "Alice in Wonderland" tangled jungle with sunlit doilies and shadows piercing the canopy. Again, many dangers as Percy pointed out some innocuous looking "deadly" caterpillars. We saw several ant colonies as Percy described the life inside these 30-70 year domiciles. Called Leaf cutter ants, they collect the leaves of a particular tree and hoard these inside their hives where the leaf rots in rainy seasons producing a mushroom that they use for food. We continue to be enthralled by the delicate balance of these plants and animals vying for the lack of nutrients.

The canoe trip down the Gamatano Creek was serene and intoxicating with only the distant cry of parrots and macaws; the gentle, rhythmic dipping of oars in the glassy water. We saw a sloth, monkey, and a red tailed squirrel.


We saw our first white kaymon (crocodile) peaking out of the river near the shore. Was he grinning at us? Hmmmmmm

Madre de Dios River and Inkaterra Camp Amazon

This boat was our mode of transport down the Madre de Dios River to our eco-lodge an hour away. The boat was VERY low in the water and the man with the oars cautioned us to keep our hands inside. This, after admonishing us to strap on life jackets. Yeah, like if we went in the water our worst problem would be drowning. No, evidently, he wanted us to stay afloat while the local crocodiles chomped on us at their leisure!

We soon arrived at the Inkaterra Lodge and were spirited away to our tent which was located right on the bank of the river among some of the most exotic scenery on earth!


We soon met our guide Percy who took us on an afternoon trek through the surrounding rain forest to give us some information about the flora and fauna of the area. No easy task considering there are 2200 identified species of plants in this 40,000 acre forest. The canopy is 50 feet high and consists of 4 levels: the bush, understory, canopy, and emerging forest at the top. Each level has its own eco-system of animal and plant life.

Observation: the birds in the Amazon are very musical and very LOUD. We saw the russet back oropendia, blue morpho butterfly which was a gorgeous iridescent lapiz blue. The strangest plant was the walking ficus that literally grew upstanding leg like roots that would "walk" the tree toward sunlight. The tallest trees in the Amazon are the Kapock trees. All plants have extremely superficial roots because the nutrients in the soil exist to a depth of only 6 centimeters!

Percy warned us not to touch ANY of the plants because several are poisonous. He hastened to add that the jaguars come out at night, but are not known to attack humans in groups (only those wandering about alone)! Note to self, do not wander about the camp unescorted.

Tarantulas live in the bark of trees and are nocturnal as well. Yes, they are poisonous, but happily are not lethal unless the human sustains several bites at one time! Well, isn't that a relief! So, are these creatures repeat biters?


In the dining area we were assigned to Roberto who was to be our trusty server for all meals during our stay. I don't know when the man slept, but he was very gracious and reveled in helping me to pronounce Spanish words. The food was incredible and I learned to like the Picsos (Peruvian specialty cocktail) at Happy Hour.

On our quiet walk through the dark back to our tent, my mantra was..."Don't pet the tarantulas and stick with Gene to ward off the Jaguars!" The only light was coming from the moon and the kerosene lanterns placed around the campground. The night cacophony was lovely and soon lulled us to sleep.

Gene's underwater photography of the reef

Belize, Ambergris Caye

Gene and I are in Belize, have been in Belize for an entire week. I'm here to report that the weather has been perfect with cooling sea breezes throughout the day. It gets hot around noon and that's not too bad if we stay out of the sun. The people, both natives and fellow tourists, are extremely affable and it's very unusual to pass another person on the beach without them offering a cheerful smile and a hello. I love this as it seems truly genuine.

Our first day here was spent simply enjoying the warmth and the green of the tropical garden right outside our second story door. Did I mention that we are staying in one half of a large "tikki hut" in an "eco" resort with the apropos name of Xanadu? The roof is a thick thatch made of coconut palm fronds. The effect is redolent of a Gauguin painting of Fiji! I would be content just to be a pebble on the beach.

One day, I think it was Monday, we borrowed a couple of bicycles from the resort and headed north to try to see part of the town and the island. The village of San Pedro has managed to retain its authentic coalescence of descendants of Mayans, African slaves, Spanish Conquistadors, and British colonists while embracing the inexorable influx of American expatriates and tourists. Shops are small and colorful, opening directly onto the narrow cobblestone streets. Most people travel by bicycle or the ubiquitous golf carts (although there does not seem to be golfing anywhere on this island.) It's as though the people here are living their lives and the tourists had better accept that they are not the focal point of this paradise.

As we wended our way north crossing the causeway, the streets morphed from cobblestone to dusty gravel and the cozy hotel resorts gave way to funky beach houses. There was an alluring beach cottage painted ochre and green, half hidden by a thicket of palm trees, with a roof porch and a lilting Caribbean song emanating from the open windows. It was absolutely captivating and it was for sale!!!!

We decided to turn back because the sun was so direct in the middle of the day(and because Gene knew that I was having vivid delusions of owning that beach house!) En route we found a ragtag hamburger joint called LEGENDS that boasts of having the best burgers on the island. So, we decided to give it our own Zagat rating. The hamburgers were nothing to write home about (or to journal about), but the atmosphere and the pina coladas coupled with the faux 70's sound of Guns and Roses as breezes from the ocean blew through my hair transported me back to the beach days of my youth. I could have sat there in my alcohol induced time warp forever!

On another day (on this same dirt road) we literally stumbled across a tiny, obscure little bar hut that boasted the best barbecue in the Caribbean. Well, being a girl from Memphis (home of arguably the best barbecue in the entire world) I considered this a challenge. We ended up sitting near the rail of a deck that overlooked a swamp replete with alligators!!!! The waitress brought us a couple of rum punches that made bike riding questionable. We sat there eating barbecue (that was excellent even by a Memphian's standards) while we were regaled by the nudist camp owners' conversation at the adjoining table! Apparently he takes much umbrage at people who insist on wearing swimsuits in the hot tub. Oi vay!

Moving on...
I don't think I told you about the afternoon that Gene cajoled me into sea kayaking with him out to the coral reef. Please note.
Sea kayaks move by the force of humans paddling against an ocean current. Sea kayaks are subject to the vagaries of waves and currents. The coral reef in question was at least two miles off the coast of the island. It was a very windy and cloudy day! I was okay as long as I didn't turn around to monitor our distance from the shore. This is akin to the idea of not looking down as one scales a tall cliff. I'm proud to say that we are alive to tell the tale.

We spent another day snorkeling on the coral reef having chartered a catamaran to take us with a guide to scout the best locations for reef and fish. As we jumped into the ocean--fins first, the guide blurted out that we would enjoy swimming among the sting rays and sharks!!!! SAY WHAT? As it turned out, the rays were extremely docile even if they do have shifty eyes. The sharks are nurse sharks and are not really dangerous to humans as long as we didn't try to scratch them behind their gills! I floated and was mesmerized by this magical alter/universe below. Such a graceful, serene, undulating world these fish have. The sunlight glinted off the yellow, blue, pink, and red fish. Breathtaking. Later we learned that Belize and Ambergris Caye are considered a SCUBA diver's paradise.

Each evening we strapped on our sandals and headed down the beach in search of dinner. Most of the cafes on the island are open porches and weathered decks right on the ocean. One evening we came across some kids on the beach who sold us home made necklaces made of rocks and seashells that we intended to give to Ukiah and Anahli. These kids also talked us into buying tickets to the famous "chicken drop.!"


I strongly suspected that a chicken drop was the island's answer to the American cock fight, but we soon learned that this isn't the case.
Chicken drop:
Someone sets up a grid comprised of tiles that are numbered 1-100. A temporary wire fence is then constructed around the grid. A crowd made up of people who are very drunk then gathers around this grid having first bought tickets. An annoyed chicken is then brought out and handed to the most attractive female in the crowd. This female is instructed to swirl the chicken 3 times, bounce it up and down 2 times, and then blow on its tail feathers before tossing the chicken gently onto the grid. The winner is the person holding the ticket that correlates to the number on the grid where the chicken chooses to poop! After I learned that the chickens were not being abused and were, in fact, fed very well (for the purposes of the game), I purchased $20 Belize dollars worth!!!!! Didn't win a penny, but I sure laughed myself silly.

We hope to return to Belize someday to SCUBA. Any takers???

Day 8 Migration Camp

We were the first ones up this morning at Migration Camp. Ephata had big plans for us today.
He's determined to find some of the animals that we have not yet sighted, namely leopards and rhinos.

Our camp is located directly in the path of the animals' migration. In fact, we have been warned not to wander from the camp unescorted because the hippos (most dangerous animal in the wild) are out in force. Last night as we tried to return to our tent for the night, we had to wait out a battle between two recalcitrant hippos near our tent. They kept up their fighting throughout the night!

On our morning drive, Ephata pointed out the giant "kopjes" or boulders that have been part of the landscape for over 400 million years. Kopjes is a German word that means small heads. Hmmm, they look like giant heads to me.

These huge rock formations were everywhere and felt like monuments commemorating the majestic creatures that they over see. They were also a favorite lounging place for the big cats.

We have realized that the further north we go in the Serengeti, the more animals we see and the more deciduous forests are evident. This is a mother giraffe with two babies. There is nothing on this planet more adorable than a baby giraffe!
















The Serengeti Plain is a landscape that seemingly has no boundaries. The distant escarpment seems to be hidden behind a scrim of mist and the sky is mildly overcast giving the dry landscape the effect of being a water color painting. This feels like being on another planet because it is like nothing I've ever experienced on the earth.

At several points during this day's exploration, we found ourselves completely engulfed by herds of hundreds of roaming herbivores.

A side bar about wildebeests and zebras: They enjoy a symbiotic relationship. It is our understanding that zebras have a very keen sense of sight; they are also very smart. Wildebeests, on the other hand, have poor vision, but a great sense of smell. Wildebeests are also not very smart. The zebras like hanging out with the wildebeests because the silly wildebeest is virtually a decoy. Let's face it, zebras got left out when nature was handing out camouflage! Also, zebras stripes are as individual as finger prints!!!! Who knew?

We have settled into the quiet wonderment of simply watching these creatures interact with one another. This is a band of buzzards waiting for the lion to get finished with the carcass. We learned that a flock of buzzards will allow one stork to be among them. The stork is also a scavenger, but depends on the buzzards to pull the meat off the bones for him. Isn't that something?

For some reason, a warthog (who is strictly a herbivore) came upon the scene and caused quite a stir when he kept chasing the buzzards away from the kill!

Perhaps the highlight of this day was finding two pairs of mating lions within 200 yards of each other. Ephata was sure that these two were brothers who co-led a pride together. Apparently two females came into season at around the same time so each brother has a mate.

A side bar about lions mating: The mating couple leaves the pride for a period of about 2 weeks. In the first 4 days of mating, the lion couple will not eat or hunt. They will copulate about every 10 minutes. After this frenzied time, then they will spend the rest of the 2 weeks together until they are assured that the female is pregnant. She will have up to 3 cubs in a litter. When they return to the pride, the male lion will completely forget about her!

We had a lovely dinner by candlelight and when it started to rain....RAIN? IN THE DRY SEASON?
they brought us an umbrella and the meal was uninterrupted (not even by a bread stealing monkey).

Day 7 Balloon ride over Serengeti plain/ migration camp

IF you have never seen the world from the floating basket of a hot air balloon, you've missed out on one of life's simple pleasures, particularly if you've been riding over life's bumpiest dirt roads for a week. What a soothing respite to drift high above the plain with the the ghost of a fading full moon on the west and the birth of a blazing African sunrise on the east! Very dreamlike, very surreal.

The ride lasted a fleeting 60 minutes, but was followed by a traditional English breakfast in the bush. Yes, this was very "tourista," but gave us the unique perspective of seeing the hoards of hippo, zebra, wildebeest from above.

I don't know if the animals are getting closer to us or if Gene's photography is improving, but we got some terrific animal shots as we headed far off to the Migration Camp in Serengeti.

Photos: Breakfast in the bush, jackal, monkey who stole Gene's bread off his dinner plate, our tent at Migration Camp, warthog kneeling to eat, bloody lion who just finished breakfast, buzzards in love, hungry hippo.